Snapchat’s Next Device Could Be a Phone, Marketing Firm Says

Snapchat is making waves as it prepares to go public with one of the biggest tech IPOs since Facebook. But, a potential valuation of $25 billion doesn’t negate the fact that the company has been facing stiff competition from the likes of Facebook and Instagram (which the company, now officially known as Snap Inc., noted in its IPO filing), and seems to be constantly coming up with new features to stay ahead.

But one newly talked about update has nothing to do with filters, or lenses, or privacy, or software of any kind, for that matter. Marketing firm Mediakix speculates Snap Inc. may soon create its very own smartphone. The company already started dabbling in the hardware market with its video-recording Spectacles, sold through their Snapbots vending machines, and the IPO filing did note that Snap intends to “significantly broaden the distribution of Spectacles,” but Mediakix thinks Snap’s recent activity points in the direction of a phone as well, and has already envisioned what it might look like.

Specifically, Mediakix points to the company’s rebranding as a “camera company” (also written in the IPO filing) and its recent hiring spree, which has included lots of hardware-related engineering and design roles; and, Mediakix reports, brought on employees who previously worked for Motorola, Apple, Google, HTC, Verizon, and Nokia. “The previous experience of the new hires, particularly in hardware as it relates to mobile, and the sheer number of new hires suggests that there’s a team at Snap that’s working on something beyond Spectacles,” Mediakix notes.

And if Snap Inc. is creating a phone, Mediakix already has some predictions as to how it might look and function. As far as the hardware goes, Mediakix thinks the phone might include a 360° camera, a one-touch capture button for easily recording snaps, and multi-functional volume buttons that also allow you to scroll through filters. The marketing company also envisions a lock screen that allows users to easily swipe for Snapchat notifications and updates, messaging, and syncing with Spectacles; a notification in the top corner letting users know when they can share content in HD; the ability for third party apps to be directly integrated into the messaging experience (a la Apple’s iMessage apps, perhaps?); and a Discover screen that combines GPS and maps, Snapchat Stories, and advertisements (so you can see stories and content happening nearby).

Though this is complete speculation at this point, it wouldn’t be the first time a social media company got involved in the phone game: Back in 2013, Facebook partnered with HTC for the HTC First (also known as the Facebook phone), that featured a custom software that put Facebook at the center of the phone’s experience. That phone was a flop, but Mediakix suggests that if Snap Inc. can design a phone that does more than just make its own app easily accessible (“if Snap...does reinvent the camera and provide consumers with something that disrupts the way we create, share, and communicate”), it could be more successful than Facebook’s attempt.